The Alamo is why millions visit mission

Express-News Editorial Board

Published 3:15 pm, Friday, August 29, 2014

SAN ANTONIO — It is indeed the “San Antonio de Valero Mission,” but let's be clear about why those words will not be the first out of the mouths of the millions who have visited it and its adjoining plaza — or will visit them.

They come to the Alamo. And that word is about the battle for Texas independence in 1836.

The last-stand battle at the Alamo was a pivotal point in Texas history and for the mission-turned-fort. And it is that point in history that should be the starting point for the city's Alamo Plaza Advisory Committee, which is developing a master plan for the city's portion of the historic site.

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Starting point doesn't mean ignoring the rest of the history. And the committee's “Alamo Area Experience Plan Update,” which sets out the committee's vision and guiding principles, says just that.

While it clearly says “1836 is the entry point,” it also cites the need to tell the complete story of the Alamo site — from its American Indian roots, to the Spanish influence, to all of the political history and motivations that predated Texas' war for independence and to what came after.

Don't think of it as an exclusive “entry point” as much as a launch point for a fuller, inclusive discussion. But the emphasis should be 1836.

We continue to believe that treating this ground with the respect it deserves means restoring the Alamo to its 1836 footprint. While those millions come to see “the Alamo,” they leave, shaking their heads and saying, “Is that all there is?”

They say that because they want to see more of what the Alamo was in 1836 and because they want a fuller interpretation than they are now getting of the battle, what preceded it and its aftermath — all in the context of Texas independence.

Accuracy will require a complete telling. A state-of-the-art museum or visitors center would accomplish this, including a full airing of Mexican views on Texas independence, the role of slavery in Texas at the time of revolution and American Indians' contributions and history throughout.

This telling needs to be inclusive but let's not fool ourselves about what point of the site's history will be the biggest draw — hence the best launching point to tell the rest of the story.

To much of the world, San Antonio de Valero Mission would be no more significant than any other Spanish mission in San Antonio and elsewhere were it not for the Battle of the Alamo.

After all, one doesn't go to Gettysburg to learn about a quaint Pennsylvania town's history.